Sunday, August 10, 2008

You might think that the bottle of Lysol in the background is a prop put there by Angie to get readers to think that we actually clean. No, Peter was just that dirty :-)

You'll notice a missing entry for Saturday. This was Karin and Lutz's wedding and by the end of the night, let me just say I was not in any condition to write.

The wedding was really great. We strategically planned physical activities for the boys for several hours before the ceremony to ensure David would be napping when we were in the church. Large open spaces create echoes which apparently anger little David. He tends to yell and scream back at his own voice increasingly until he passes out or we take him outside.

Our master plan worked and David slept through most of the ceremony. He woke up at the end, just in time to help throw flowers at the bride. Most of the other children were throwing the petals down in front of the bride and groom as they left the church - David, however, tried his hardest to pelt the happy couple in the head. Luckily, his aim was not on. Peter was absolutely great during the entire ceremony. At one point, we did have to play a silent game of paper, scissors, rock to keep him entertained. Yes, the game was for him, not me. But I won, so ha.

The reception was also great. Super weather, great atmosphere, and of course free beer. The kids ran around feeding goats, petting ponies and practicing archery. Yes, archery. It was supervised, but drinking and archery? Peter got to shoot a few arrows and managed not to kill anything, so it was fun for everyone.

Dinner was excellent and the many games that Angie and Kika organized kept everyone entertained. At one point, Peter decided to join in for a game of musical chairs, with a twist. Instead of grabbing a chair when the music stopped, everyone had a task to perform and then they had to race back to their seat. The first task was to find a woman's left shoe. At this point, everyone playing jumped up and began frantically racing about - except Peter. He was obviously not expecting such a comotion and began freaking out. In the end, everyone had returned to their chair waving a woman's shoe except Peter, who was shaking and crying. Perhaps we should have explained that game to him first.

After putting the kids to bed, I spent the remaining hours of the night ensuring that the early hours of the next day would be as painful as possible. Dark sunglasses, aspirin, coffee and earplugs could describe a few remedies to my condition the following morning. The boys, on the other hand, woke up in a happy mood. Angie and David slept nose to nose and both opened their eyes at the same time. Angie said 'Good morning', to which David replied 'I love you, too'. David is alway good at getting to the meaning behind the words.

The drive home was much better, traffic-wise. We made it home in just under five hours and promptly chucked the animals in the bath to get hosed down. As you can see, Peter seemed to enjoy this. His smile quickly faded when I asked him if he could run and get me one of Mama's left shoes.--------------------------------------------[David refused to sit long enough for Ladder Talk today]1) What was the best part of your day?Peter: When we woke up and were sleeping at the hotel.

2) What was the worst part of your day?Peter: When David said 'Peter got pinched, Peter go pinched'.

3) What would you like to do tomorrow?Peter: To go with you to the playground.